1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the manufacture of optical fibers, and in particular a method of optimizing the bandwidth of multimode optical fibers.
2. Technical Background
To improve multimode optical fiber performance, bend insensitive multimode optical fibers have been developed. The fibers have improved the reliability of optical fiber communication systems, even when the highest order guided modes are excited. They are especially attractive for use in data center applications, where tight bends are a frequent necessity. While these designs may involve a depressed relative refractive index region, or “moat”, adjacent to the core, the optical fiber shape parameter alpha (α) must precisely match between the core and the moat regions. Any error at the core—moat interface may have a negative impact on the bandwidth of the optical fiber. To overcome this sensitivity, multimode optical fibers having an offset moat have also been developed. The selected offset is chosen such that relative delays of the outermost mode groups are minimized. However, even with an optimum offset, perturbations of the refractive index profile can still result in delay errors of the outermost guided mode groups, thereby potentially limiting bandwidth.